For the Love of Life
by Callisto Nicol
Summary: Kari is having problems almost larger than she can handle.


Author's Note:I wrote this for English class, too!! I never mentioned the names, cuz I was afraid to…don't ask why, my teacher wouldn't have cared…but so you know, it's about Kari. 

^*^*^*^*

For the Love of Life

^*^*^*^*

Pain.Insufferable, intolerable pain ripped and roared through her body.Every pore in her body, every single hair, each individual cell, felt as if it were on fire.Her fingers curled up tight into balls, trying to release the agonizing pain by squeezing.It didn't work.Then again, nothing did.Gritting her teeth, thinking cheerful thoughts, closing her eyes, praying—nothing worked.If anything, these simple actions increased the pain.

Pushing with all her might, she tried to ignore what was going on around her.What ever had possessed her to go through with this?It felt like hell—a never-ending hell in which she was a permanent resident.Tears seeped out of her eyes as if they were hot molten lava percolating out of an erupting volcano.She had been told that crying helped one to ignore the pain.If she ever got her hands on the person who had told her that, she'd strangle and mangle them.

She tried her best to be brave, but what did bravery matter in the face of the devil?Despite her best efforts, a moan escaped her lips.It didn't lessen the pain, but it made her feel better._Cry.Scream.Shout.Wail.Howl._These thoughts coursed through her mind, and she finally succumbed to them, letting out the shriek of a banshee.It sounded coarse even to her own ears, but she didn't care.It was a release of all the tension strung across her body.Another unearthly shriek escaped her lips._Bliss.Screaming is bliss._She screamed again as sweat dotted her forehead.Closing her eyes helped block out the pain mentally for a few minutes, but as another knife of pain went rip-roaring up her abdomen, she would have gouged her eyes out if someone hadn't suddenly grabbed her wrists and held them down.

A jolt of pain seared through her body.She felt like she was being ripped in two.Maybe she was; she couldn't tell for sure.All she knew was that she was on the brink of insanity; or perhaps she had already passed over the brink.There was no definite line as far as she could tell.Perhaps she had passed the line back when the pain first started, or maybe even when the first unearthly scream passed her lips.Or maybe she had yet to pass it.One could not tell when immersed in a world of agony.

One last scream escaped her lips before the world blacked out around her.She was no longer aware of anything.Her conscious had slipped just beyond the grasp of her fingertips, escaping her mind.All tangibility was gone.She was floating in an endless black void, empty of all emotions and feelings—especially pain.Pain.The pain was gone, or at least diminished.In this motionless state of nothingness, not even the vast amount of pain her physical body was feeling could weasel its way through and torment her.This place…this was the residence of her soul.The calm, peaceful, tranquil and serene residence of her soul and all things precious was here.She basked in the silence of it, the peacefulness of it.It was everything life should have been—and it was void of pain.This was life.

_Life_.Such a fragile word, that.What was life?Had she ever had a hold on it?Had she ever _really_ had a hold on it?Or was she, just like so many others, a mechanical robot going about daily activities that defined her as human, and as having a life, but not having any true meaning?_Was_ there a true meaning to life?Or was it supposed to be vast and empty?Empty.It was empty; life was truly empty.There was nothing there, nothing worth living for.Life was one giant bout of pain shoved on you in the slow process of seventy years, or however long you were meant to grace the planet with your presence.

At least, that's what almost everybody said.But she knew differently, oh yes, she did. To her, life had never been empty.Never, in all her years of existence, had it been meaningless.Life was only meaningless if one allowed it to become so; the meaning was put into life by the individual living it.She had never had trouble putting meaning in her life.From a young age, it had always been filled with light and courage.Later she had added hope to that life, and then friendship, sincerity, reliability, kindness and knowledge.Finally, to top it all off, she had added love.Those simple qualities and virtues, plus so many more, made her life bearable, made it worth living while she was on Earth.She had a reason to wake up every morning and go about life with vigor, not because she had to work or keep somebody happy, but because she wanted to—because she loved life.And because she loved life, she knew she would live through this bout of pain, through this endless hell, for there was something waiting for her on the other side.

Through the hazy world of pain, the voice of an angel reached through to her._'I love you,'_ were the three words she heard resonating through the black vacuum.They came from the voice of an angel—but not just any angel.Her angel.It was his voice.His comforting voice, always there when she needed its presence, was fulfilling its duty.The bearer of a message most sacred and holy above all others, it told her she was loved and needed; it told her she had a reason to go on living and to not give up the struggle.

Summoning every ounce of willpower she had ever had in her life, she worked desperately to bring her mind out of this carnal state of nothingness so she could return to the world of the conscious.Fighting with a desperation she hadn't known she was possible of achieving, she wove her way through the sticky void holding her mind prisoner.She had a rock hard resolve to return to the land of the living, the land of love, joy, happiness and misery.More than anything she yearned to return, to once again be with the people she loved.She needed this, needed it as much as a newborn needed its mother, as much as a child needed to be nurtured, as much as a body needed water, as much as the soul needed love.Putting all her determination forward, she strove for the light, knowing if she didn't make it she might never get out of her own private land of oblivion.That was not acceptable, for she needed light to live, needed it as badly as anything.Letting her need lead the way, she strove forward with all her might…

…And let her eyelids flutter open slowly.The pain was all but gone, only a trace of it left.She would forever carry the memories, but it mattered not to her, for it was gone.

Opening her eyes all the way, she was met with the smiling face of her angel, the carrier of the voice that had led her out of oblivion.She knew not how long she had been under, but in that one moment, it didn't matter, for her angel, her love, her darling, smiling husband, handed her the fruit of her pain, the most beautiful and precious of all things in the world—her baby.

As she carefully took the bundle of joy in her arms, a look of complete and total awe overtook her face.This darling child, this tiny thing, this gift, had come out of her pain and suffering.Somehow, despite how intense the pain had been, it seemed insignificant compared to the joy of holding this tiny treasure.

Gently pulling the blanket away from the face of her sleeping baby, still in awe she whispered, "Our baby girl.Our little Kaylee."She held the infant close, never wanting to release this product of her pain.Lovingly she placed a kiss on Little Kaylee's nose.In a mere matter of moments, all her hopes for the future had come alive in this child, and the light that had once hung at the end of an endless tunnel was now close enough to touch and love.This beautiful baby stood for all that was good in the world; she stood for all that made life worth living.

Turning her face to her angel, she smiled up at him, letting him know she was all right.With one hand he took her free one, and with the other hand he gently touched Kaylee's small head.They didn't know how long they stood there like that, connected as only a family could be, but to them it felt like forever, a never-ending bliss that represented their love for each other.

And all was right in the world.

^*^*^*^*

A/N: This is one of my best pieces ever, so hopefully you liked it.Remember, I love long, glowing reviews, so hit that review button!!~~Callisto


End file.
